Semitrailer



.Jan. 5,1926.

c. H. LAND, JR

SEMITRAILER Filed Feb.

1924 7 she'as-sne t 1 Elm wanton Jan. 5, 1926.

c. H. LAND, JR

'SEMITRAILER Filed F ab. s. 1924 -7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jan. 5 1926.

c. H. LAND, JR

SEMITRAILER Jan. 5 ,-19Z6.\

c. H. LAND, JR

SEMITRAILER Filed Feb. 8. 1924 7 sheets sheet 4 Jan. 5 1926. C. H. LAND, JR

t SEMI'IRAILER F lled Feb.

7 Sheets-Sheet .5

Jan. 5 1926.

c. H. LAND, JR

SEMI TRAILER Fi led Feb. 8. 1924 '7 Sheets-Sheet 1,568,560 0. H. LAND, JR

SEMITRAILER Jan. 5 1926.

Filed Feb. 8. 1924 '7 Sheets-Sheet v [Zazg f/t Patented Janis; 1926.

' .UNITED. sTATEs Y i j 1,568,560

PATENT orrlca.

Application .filed To all whom it may Camera:

Be it-known that CHARLES H/LANI), Jr,

a citizen of the United States, residing at devices; one 0 which is an arrangementto release the locking pin located in the coupling head from the strain incident to the.

Detroit, in the county of Vayne and State of Michigan, has invented certain new and" useful Improvements in Senntraflers, of

which the following is a specification.

' This invention relates to semi-trailers. The subject matter of the invention may be classified as follows:

t Wheels are providedpnthe trailer frame near the front end for running up :the inclined ap proach to the horizontal'tracks oninatically raising these wheels ofi the-horizontal portion'of the tracks whenthe trailer 1 is in its final position on the-tractor.

When the tractor backs into the semitrailer, the latch hooks areautomatically positioned to engage with the locking'bar on the truck. This is accomplished by the supporting unit swinging from its forward position to a vertical position during the travel on the truck tracks of the wheels on the front end of the trailer frame.

The construction of the automatic means for raising the sup orting element of the trailerwhen the true drives into the trailer involves ,a new arrangement whereby the actuating connection is near the fulcrum of the swinging supporting element so that -only a small' amount of movement. is re-. quired to lift the supporting element even if greater poweris required, distance being considered more important here than power which is proportionately .large' due to the heavy truck.

7 7 I The brake which has been sets in position ,prior to. the time when the truck backs into the trailer is automatically released by the t truck at the proper time.

. tion before the When thetruck startsoutxf-rom under the" trailer, it first draws the legs into position and automatically locks them in this posiuncoupling movement takes place.

Provision is made so thatthe truck cannot uncouple from the trailer until the legs of the'sup orting elements, are plooked in their uprig t position, the unco'uplin being revented prior to the locking of said legs in position but allowed to uncouple subsequentl.

Mechanism is provided which may be operated from the cab of the truck for February 8, 1924. Serial No. 891,342

is ntirel permit acking without setting the brakes.

. The couplin head involves new and novel fifth wheel. The parts are shown before the 'HEISSUED' blockin an override brake mechanism to i truck has backed all the way into the trailer. I

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same parts showing-the parts in the same position.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary longitudinal section of the same parts.

Fig 4 1s a lon "tudinal, section through a, portion of the fi h wheel on the truck and the'coupling head on the trailer.

5 is 'a longitudinal section of the trailer showing the brake operating connec- .tions. Y

Fig. 6 isa section taken on the line M of Fig. 1. Y

Fig. 7 is a section taken on the line 7-}7 of Fig. 2. a v

Fi 8'is a front elevation of a trailer and the the trailer wheels, as raised-slightly off the track carried by the truck.

Fig. 9' is a longitudinal section through thefo'rward part of the trailer when tractor away showing by how the rop of the. su portmg legs serves to position the latch hooks in the path ofthe bar of the truck, after impact of bumper loops butbefore final coupling.

h Fig. 10 is a frontelevation of the coupling ea Y I Fig. .11 is a plan view'of the same. Fig.'12 is a plan view of the trailer similar to Fig.1, but showing the trailer and the fifth wheel part of the truck after the truck is backed entirely into thetrailer Y Fig. 13 isa longitudinal section pfthe trailer and the rear part of the truck parts being omitted for c earness, showing the parts when in position for transport as distinguished from Fig. 3, which shows the.

parts in the act of coup Fig. 14 is a plan view 0 the rear of the truck. f Y

dotted lines 1 fth wheel part of the truck,.s'howing Fig. 15 is a detail" showing means for setting the brake as the truck pulls away from the trailer.

The apparatus is somewhat diflicult, to understand and follow due to the large number of relative changes that occur in performing the automatic functions outlined above. It is therefore thought that the easiest way to approach and describe the matter is to describe the operation and the parts together, beginning with the truck backing into the semi-trailer.

In the plan view of the back of the truck shown in Fig. 14, will be seen the tracks a which are inclined as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, in the manner set forth and claimed in the Pescatore Patent No. 1,084,820. A pair of bumper loops b (Figs. 2 and 3) are provided on the front of the trailer for first striking the inclined track and taking the shock on the trailer. As the inclined track backs further it strikes the rollers c supported on the bottom of the side sills ,of the trailer by the brackets (I. This, of course, greatly facilitates the truck running under the trailer and lifting the same.

Refer to Fig. 9. When the truck has previously uncoupled itself from the trailer, it has left the latch hooks e in the raised. position shown by the full lines. However, as soon as the truck raises the trailer off the ground by backing under it as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the forwardly inclined legs 7 of the supporting element swing from the full line position shown in Fig. 9, to the dotted line position,that is, down to the vertical. The legs are connected by the link g to the sliding bar h. This sliding bar is connected at the front with a coupling head i on which are pivoted the two bell cranklike latch hooks 6. These latch hooks were left'held in their lifted position by reason of the tail engaging the ]u 1 j on the bottom of the bar k, which extenrTs from the front cross channel to the first intermediate channel of the trailer frame (Fig. 1; compare .also Fig. 11). This backward movement of the sliding bar It permits the two latch hooks which are connected by the shaft m. (Fig. 10) to drop down into the dotted line position shown in Fig. 9. The bill of the latch hook is inclined so that when the lock bar 1'1, shown in dotted lines in Fig. 9, strikes the inclined bill it throws the swinging latch upwardly and passes under it and into the gullet of the latch which drops back upon the lock bar by gravity. This is illustrated in Fig. 3. There are two of 6 these lock bars a (see Fig. 14). They are supported on the upstanding lugs 0 of the cap plate p in the center of the fifth wheel of the truck. This cap plate 7) is shown in Fig. 3 and is the upper cap plate, while the lower cap plate 9 carries the projecting lugs r (Fig. 14) which are four in number,

in Fig. 4:.

Four spacing springs a are coiled about these rods and abut against the projecting lugs 1". This arrangement gives the two center cap plates a floating action with respect to the larger circular track so that and which slide on the rods 8 that bridge the circular track If from front to back.

there may be a slight yield and play in the Now, it is desirable to automatiwhich will be set by hand before the truck is backed into the trailer. This brake is operated by a brake rod u that runs to the front of the trailer where it connects with the brake lever in, which operates in connection with the usual toothed segment a: and pawl y (see Fig. 1).

It becomes necessary here to make a slight digression and describe the coupling head and the sliding element which serves to perform a number of the automatic operations such as lifting the supporting legs and drawipg them down into a vertical position, releasing the brake, and some of the other operations. This coupling head is detailed The sliding element is the rod It. The coupling head is a two-part member comprising the pin-holding casting 2 and the h0ok-earrying-'casting 1. An abutment collar 2, is pinned to the sliding element It, and a coiled spring 3 yieldingly spaces the latch-hook-carrying casting 1, and. yieldingly forces it against the pin-holding casting a.-

tapered locking pin 5, when raised. A lock- 1 ing bar'6 extends from the front cross channel bar to the first intern'iediate cross chair nel bar of the trailer frame (see also Fig. 1). This has an elongated slot 7, in its for ward end and a small opening 8 to the rear of this.

\Vhen the supporting legs f are in their extreme forward position such as shown in Fig. 2, the pin rests in the forward end of this slot 7. The length of the slot permits the movement already referred to and illustrated in Fig. 9, where the legs drop from theforward inclined position to the vertical position for the purpose of positioning the latch hooks. In the condition that we left the trailer and truck, the latch hooks had engaged with the lock bar and the trailer and truck were coupled together, but the supporting legs had not been drawn up nor the brakes released. This can only be efiected by the travel of the. sliding element,

the trailer by reason of the latch hooks. engaging over the lock' bar that is carried' by the fifth wheel, the stud 10 is directly under the lever 4.. This stud 10 passes through the center of the fifth wheel. Its

lower end is enlarged and slotted as at 1 1,,

and this slot is connected with a lever 12 of the bell crank type, which is, connected by the rod 13 with the drivers cab, not shown. By pulling forward on this rod 13, the lower arm of the lever is raised. Thisraises the stud 10 and: the lever 4, which encountel-s the lower end of the tapered-locking pin and thrusts it up against the force of the spring 14. The'upper edges of boththe holes 7 and 8' in the lock bar are beveled off as shown in Fig. 4:. This leveret rises to'the dotted lineposition shownin Fig. 4, and

lifts the pin to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 4, but bear'in mind the whole coupling head and pin are now in the elongated slot 7. This releases the sliding elements of the trailer, to wit: the coupling head and the slidin bar, so that they are free now to move re atively backward with respect to the trailer to accomplish the results now to be described. 1

- The driver of the truck now backs up the truck slightly. The truck together wit the sliding elements" on the trailer move backwardly. ing pin in connection withthe beveled edge of the slots serving to cause the locking pin to climb out of the slot. The parts continue their relative movement along the locking bar until the oplening 8 of the locking bar e locking pin 5. When it is'reached by t registers with this 0 ening, the helical spring licenses it to s oot into this opening. If this were to immediately-arrest the truck, the pin would likely shear, but this is nicely ta encare of by the inertia resisting arrangement afforded by the making of.

the couphng head in two pieces, carrying the pin on the. casting a and the coupling hooks on the casting 1. The consequence is that the coil spring 3 allows these two-parts y so of the coupling head to se arate slight that the inertia of the two may be stopped' by the s ring 3 in a adual fashion rat er than. by ing suddendy arrested by the pin .5. In short, this constitutes a nicely arranged spring bufie'r in the coupler to prevent the shearing of the pin 5.

This-relative movement of the sliding elements on the trailer, accomplishes these re- The tapered end'of the lock.

sults: it forces the slidin :bar h to the rear. Refer to Fig, 3. The. s "ding bar is connected b the link g with-the supporting legs f. his connection is made as closeto the fulcrum of the le s as possible so that a.

minimum amount 0 travel of the bar h. will be. re uired to swing the legs u to their fo lded position, suchas shown in ig. 13. This is one result. The second result is that the sliding bar releases the brakes. Refer to'Fig. 5'. The brake rod u is divided into a front an d rear half connected by the toothed portion 15'; on the-bar k is [supported the brake releasing lever 16, in an eye of which is guided the brake rod u (see Fig. 5 and Fig. 7 -On' the coupling head is a lever tripping lug 17 As the sliding elements reachthe rear end of their travel this v lug 17 strikes this brake releasing lever 16, as shown in Fig. 6, and lifts up the forward portion 'of. the brake rod," disengaging it from the -toothed portion 15. The spring 18 immediately forces "the brake rod forward, which releases the brakes and the trailer is now free to move in transit.

A third result accomplished by the backward sliding movement,of the sliding elements of .the trailer is to disengage'the rollers '0 from the tracks so as to give a slight clearance to provide a free movement of the rollers 19' (Fig.8) on the fifth wheel track t. These rollers 19 are near the'ends of the lock shafts n (Fig. 14). Secured to the inside of the side channel sills of the .trailer are the U brackets 20 (Figs. 1, 3-and 7). These brackets are adapted to straddle the rollers 21 on the extreme endslof'ythe l lock barsn; :Wh'en these-'slidingelements reach the rear of their movement" these rollersstrike .the inclined face 22. (Fig. '3') of this U bracket and this serves to raise the trailer frame just slightly with respect to the truck. This lifts the rollers :0 ofi the track just sufficiently as shown Fig. 8 so as. to clear the same. The rollers 21 and the U brackets are shown inter-engaged in Fig. 12. I

This completes the coupling and auto matic operation 'of the devices making the truck and trailer read for transit. It may,

however, be mentione that the brake is also arranged to be a plied when the trailer attempts to overri e the truck. The forward end of the rear portion of the brake rod u is ofl'set as shown in Fi 12 to provide an abutment 23, which is a apted to strike the shoulder 24 on the vcou ling head 1 in case the truck is suddenly s owed or stopped or the trailer suddenly accelerated, the spring .3 permitting this override action. .This is a very useful functionin stopping, as then of course the ap 'lication of the brakes to the truck leaves t e, trailer perfectly free to continue on were it not for this-brake- This override braking arrangement: hence a pro- 1 vides suitable brakes to stop the trailer coincidently with the application of the brakes to the truck.

We now turn to the uncoupling of the truck from the trailer. The truck driver pulls on the rod 13 (Fig. l). This raises the stud 10, the lever 4, and in turn raises the locking pin 5 to its uppermost position shown in the dotted lines of this figure. The driver then starts the truck forward. The first thing that happens is that the depending cam 40 (Fig. 15) strikes the arm 25 on the brake rock shaft 26. This applies the brakes to permit the truck to pull away from the trailer.

The sliding elements, to wit: the sliding bar h and the coupling head on the trailer, now move forward relatively with respect to the trailer which remains stationary. The lock pin 5 by reason of its tapered lower end, climbs out of the hole '8 and rides along the locking bar ,until it jdrops in the elongated slot 7 in the bar (Fig. 4). In making this relative travel forwar the sliding elements accomplish several results.

One result is to automatically uncouple the latch hooks from the -lock'bar',in short, uncouple" the trailer from the truck. Referring to Fig. 9, it will be seen how this is accomplished. As the hooks move forward with the sliding coupling head, the tails 27 strike the lug j on the bar 70 (see also Fig. 11); this kicks the hooksup as shown in the full lines in Fig. 9, thereby permitting the locking bars 11. to draw away. A second result accomplished by the relative travel of the sliding elements forward on the trailer is to pull the legs downwardly, as these are directly tied to the sliding bar it by the links 9.

By comparing the different parts in Fig 9, it will be apparent that the-hooks are not kicked off the locking bars until the legs have gone beyond a perpendicular position. It is only in the final travel from the perpendicular position to the slightly inclined forward final position that the hooks are thrown from the locking bars.

This travel takes place by reason of the elongated slot 7 (see Fig. 4) that is,the pin 5 drops into the rear of this slot and hence absolutely prevents the legs from folding up before the hooks are kicked off the lock bars. This absolutely prevents any accident as for instance, the legs dropping back or folding up slightly so that when the truck draws away from the tractor, the forward end of the trailer would fall. This cannot happen, as it is only by the slightamount of'movement allowed by the elongated slot that the hooks are kicked off. To further prevent any accidental throwing of the hooks by any other force, it will be seen from referring to Fig. 11 that one of the hooks is provided with an upwardly projecting lug 29. This is adapted to ride along the underside of the bar k so that these hooks can only be released when they are in their forward position opposite the slot 30, in the bar k.

Oftentimes it is desirable to back the truck and trailer. However, this would always apply the override brake except for the arrangement I have provided for block ing off the overridebrake on these occasions. The operator of the car need simply thrust back on the rod 13. .This carries the lever 12 (Fig. 4) to the lowermost position shown in this figure. This pulls down the stud 10, which has a collar 31, which engages the tail 32 of the lever 33 and throws this lever up against the under side of the lock bars 6, so that the same isin the path of the lug 34. This provides the inner fifth wheel parts only a slight movement with respect to the outer wheel and consequently, not enough movement so that the shoulder 24 can strike the abutment 23 on the brake rod to apply the brakes.

A feature of this trailer and truck to which I desire to call attention is that there is no draft through the coupling device that is operated from the cab and which looks the sliding elements of the trailer in either forward or rear position. The draft is entirely through the locking member on the truck and the latching hooks'on the trailer, and these are automatically controlled by the relative movement of the sliding parts of the trailer with respect to the trailer itself. What I claim is:

1. In a truck and a semi-trailer, the combination of a truck provided with inclined tracks at the back, a semi-trailer frame,

rollers supported on the trailer frame adapted to run up the tracks, lock bars on the truck having rollers at the ends, and U brackets depending from the trailer frame arranged to engage the rollers on the ends of the locking bars to slightly raise the trailer with respect to the truck when the truck backs clear into the trailer for the purpose of causing the rollers to clear the trac 2. In a truck and a semi-trailer, the combination of a truck provided with a locking member, a trailer frame, a sliding reach and a slidable coupling connected together and supported on the trailer frame, the latter provided with means for engaging the looking member, a swinging supporting 'element supported by the trailer frame, and a connection between the supporting unit and the sliding reach connecting with the supporting unit relatively close to the fulcrum.

3. In a truck and a semi-trailer, the combination of a truck provided with a locking member, a trailer frame, a sliding coupling head provided with a latching member adapted to engage the locking member on the truck, a sliding reach connected with the coupling member, a swinging supporting "-unitpivoted on the trailer frame, a slidin member. slidable in the trailer. frame an connected with the lower end of the supporting unit to act as a, tension member, and a connecting 'link between the sliding reach and the supporting unit near its fulcrum.

- '4. In a truck and a semi-trailer, the combination of a truck provided with a locking member, a semi-trailer frame provided with a latching member adapted to engage the locking member on the truck but which is left out of the path of the locking member when the truck is uncoupled from the trailer, and means automatically operated for throwing the latch back into the path of the locking member when thetruck backs into the trailer.

5. In a truck and a semi-trailer, the combination of a truck provided with a locking member, a semi-trailer frame provided with a latching member adapted to engage the locking member on the truck but which is left out of the path of the locking member when the truck is uncoupled from the trailer, and means automatically operated for throwing the latch back into the path of the locking member when thetruckbacks into the trailer operating by means of the truck lifting the trailer.

6. In a truck and a semi-traileg, the combination of a truck provided withla looking member, a trailer frame provided with a stop, a latching member on the trailer frame ordinarily left in a raised position out of the path of the locking member when the truck is uncoupled from the trailer, a

sliding element in the trailer, a swinging supporting unit pivoted on the trailer frame 7. In a truck and a semi-trailer, the comand connected with the sliding element, the saidswinging'supporting element when in a supporting position being somewhat forward of a vertical position, the said'latching member being held in its raised position by abutting against the stop and being also connected with the sliding element whereby when the truck backs into the trailer and raises the trailer, the swinging supporting element swings to the vertical, pulls the sliding element and the latch out of engagement with the stop and permits the latch to drop into the path. of the lockbination of a truck provided with a locking .member, a trailer frame, aswinging gravity latch in the form of a ,hookfhavi'ng an inclined face bill, said hook arranged to slide on the trailer, a stop by which said hook is kicked up to its release position, a swinging supporting member occupying a position s somewhat inclined to the vertical forward of a vertical line through its fulcrum when ingl separab e, and means the same is acting as a support for; the v trailer frame, and connections between said swinging supporting member and the slidmounted hook whereby when the true drives under the trailer and raises the same the supporting unit swings to the vertical and draws the hook away from the stop and allows the same to fall into the path of the oncoming locking member.

p 8. In' a truck and semi-trailer, the combination of a truck provided with a locking member, a trailer frame, and a two-part coupling member provided with means for engaging the locking member, the two-part couplin member havin the parts yieldably or arresting one of the coupling members in a sliding movement that both have with respect to the trailer frame whereby the other part of the coupling member in its yielding separating action on the trailer frame, ,one of the parts provided with means for coupling onto the locking member of the truck, a yieldable connection between the two arts, the other parts provided with a loc 'ng in, and means for arrestin the locking pin where- ..by the arresting o the locking pin part of the coupling permits the other part of the coupling to separate slightly and absorb the inertia shock in arresting the relative movement of' the coupling with respect to the trailer. I

10. In a truck and semi-trailer, the combination of a truck provided with a locking member, a trailer frame, a locking bar provided with an opening therein, a two-part.

coupling slidable along the locking bar, the two-parts being held togetherby, a spring, a locking pin on the forward part of the coupling head and a latching member secured on the rear art of the cou linghead,

said locking pin ropping into t e opening in the locking bar when itregisters there-' with while the inertia of the truck and the other part. of the couplin is absorbed by the springs when the yie ding separation takes place between the two coupler parts when the shooting of the pin into the holearrests one part of the coupler.

11. In a truck and semi-trailer, the combination'of a-trailer frame, a locking bar supported thereon with an opening at the rear and an elongated opening in the front, a sliding couplin head slidable with respect to the trailer rame, a supporting raised or lowered by the slidin action of the coupler, the coupler provi ed with a latching member arranged 1 to be automatically released as the sliding coupler nears the unit completion of its forward relative'movement with respect to the trailer frame, and

a locking pin on the coupler arranged to engage in the rear opening of] the lock bar to hold the supporting unit in its inoperative position and dropping into the elongated slot to 'lock the supporting unit in its operative position but permitting slight further tail of the latch hook to throw the same relative movement forwardfor the purpose of permitting the latching member to be automatically disengaged.

12. In a truck and a semi-trailer, the combination of a trailer frame, a coupler head slidable thereon provided with a latching hook having a tall on one end, and a'trip lug on the trailer frame for engaging the for automatically releasing the hook when the coupler travels forward with respect tothe trailer. v

13. In a truck and a semi-trailer, the combination of a trailer frame, a sliding coupler .head provided with a latching member, locking means for locking the same with respect to the trailer in its forward position and in its rear position in the sliding movement, the locking means in the forward position permitting however a certain lost motion forward but no movement backward,

a tripxon the trailer, said latch member strik-.

ing t e trip to throw the latching member to a releasing position after the forward position of the locking means sets the coupler against any backward movement but permits motion forward, and a supporting unit raised and lowered by the relative movement of the coupler head, locked in its upright osition when the forward position of the ocking means locks against backward sliding movement of the coupler.

14:- In a truck and a semi-trailer, the combination of a truck provided with a fifth wheel carrying. a locking member, a trailer frame, a coupler head slidable thereon, to

' the fifth wheel or disengaging the locking efi'ect certain operations, a locking element on the trailer frame, said coupler provided with a latching member arranged to engage the locking element in the forward and rear ends of its sliding movement, and a control member running up through the fifth wheel on the truck for disengaging the interlock between the coupler head and the locking element on the trailer.

15. In a truck and a semi-trailer, the

combination ofa truck provided with a fifth wheel, a trailer frame, a coupler head slidable longitudinally on the trailer frame to perform certain automatic operations, a locking bar provided with two openings for locking the coupler head at theforward and rear end of its movement, a locking pin for eng ing in said openings, and a control mem er runnin up through the center of .a sto pin from the opening-in the lock bar when this is desired.

16. In a truck and a semi-trailer, the combination of a truck provided with a fifth wheel, a trailer frame, a locking bar provided with two openings, a slidable coupler head whose sliding movement serves to perform certain automatic operations, a pin in the coupling head for enga ing inthe openings to lock the coupling ead in the for ward or rear end of its movement, a lever on the coupling head, and a stud operating through the center of the fifth wheel which may engage, the lever Y which is, thereby swung to disengage thepin fromthe open- '7 ing in the lockin bar.

17. In a true and a semi-trailer,fthe combination of a truck provided with a fifth wheel, a trailer, a sliding .coupler head whose sliding movement controls certain automatic operations, means for locking the same at the forward or rear end of its movement, override brake mechanism on the trailer frame automaticall, operated when the trailer ,movesforwar with respectvto the truck, means for-blocking such overrid ing action to prevent the action of the override brake, and means passingup throu h the fifth wheel of the truck which may I36 used both to disengage the locking means of the coupler head or optionally to throw in the blocking mechanism to prevent the operation of the override brake.

18. In a truck and a semi-trailer, the combination of a truck-provided with a fifth wheel, a trailer frame, a sliding coupling head slidable on the trailer frame to perform certain automatic operations, means for locking the same at the rear and'front of its movement, an override brake mecha-' nism on the trailer operated .to apply the a brakes when the trailerv overrides the truck,

head moves, a locking pin carried by the coupler head and adapted to drop into said openings, a stop on the locking bar, alever on the coupler, and a stud running up through the center of the fifth wheel which may be raised to disengage the locking pin ported on the trailer, a lever care coupler head, and means pass- 5 ing up through the fifth wheel of the truck into the riding.

from the locking bar opening and ma be lowered to throw the lever into the. path of the stop, and an overriding brake mechanism operated by the overriding of the trailer frame on the truck, saidbrake being blocked when the said lever is thrown up path of the .stop to prevent over- 20. In a truck and a semi-trailer, the combination of a truck provided with a fifth wheel, a trailer having a yieldable connection through such fifth wheel of'the truck, override brake mechanism operated by said trailer moving forward on such ieldable connection with respect to the true means for blocking such overriding action, and

a control device therefor running through the center of the fifth wheel. k

21. In a truck and a semi-trailer, the combination of a truck provided with a fifth wheel, a trailer having a yieldable connection with the truck through the fifth wheel, override brake mechanism on the trailer, a

stop member on the trailer, a lever'pivote'd on the trailer which can be throwninto the path of the stop to prevent overriding action of the trailer on the truck, and a stud passing through the center of the fifth wheel by which the lever may be controlled to block said overridin action and render ineffective the overridlng brakes.

22. In a truck and a semi-trailer, thecombination of a truck, atrailer that may be coupled with the truck by backing into it and provided with supporting elements that are,raised by the movement of the truck,

'a brake on the trailer, means operated by the final movement of the truck when it backs into the trailer for releasing the brakes after said supporting elements are raised.

23. In a truck and a semi-trailer, the combination of a truck, a trailer which is coupled with the truck when the truck backs -mto the trailer, brake mechanism on the trailer including two brake rod portions connected by a toothed segment and a toothed engagement, and means operated at the finish of the movement of the truck into the trailer for throwing the 'tooth out of the toothed segment to release the brakes.

24. In a truck and a semi-trailer, the combination of atruck, a trailer that is coupled to the truck when the truck backs into the trailer, brake mechanism on the trailer including aseverable connection, and

a sliding member on the trailer operated by the movement of the truck backward into the trailer for disengaging said severable connection to release the brakes as the truck reachesjhe end of its movement into the trailer. v

25. In a truck and a semi-trailer, the combination of a truck, a trailer which is coupled with the truck when the truck backs into the same, brake mechanism on the trailer including a severable rod in two parts, one part of which runs through a lever with an eye, and a sliding member operated with the movement of the truck ,and lo'catedon the trailer adapted to-engage under the lever to lift the same and break theseverable connection to release the extreme front of its movement.

27. In a truck and a semi-trailer, the combination of a truck provided with a locking member, a trailer frame, a sliding coupling head on the trailenframe which performs certain automatic operations by its sliding movement, a latching member on the coupler head in the form of a bellcrank hook, and a-trip lug supported by the trailer frame, adapted to engage the tail of the bell crank hook when the coupling head nears the forward end of'its' slide to. re-

lease the hook from the locking member I on the truck.

28. In a truck and a'semi-trailer, the combination of a' truck provided with a locking member, a trailer frame, a sliding coupling head on the trailerframe, whose shding movement performs certain operations, a

-latching member onthe coupling head engaging the locking member and automatically released when it reachesthe front of the end of the sliding movement of the cons" pling, and means for guarding its release until the front end of t e movement of the coupler head is reached.

29. In a truck and a semi-trailer, the combination of a truck providedwith a locking member, a trailer, a coupling head slidable on the trailer to perform certain operations, a latching member carried on the coupler head, a bar supported by the trailer frame along the path of movement of the latch, and

a trip supported by the bar to disengage the I latch from the locking member.

30. In a truck and a semi-trailer, the com- 1 bination of a truck provided with a locking member, a trailer, a coupling head slidable on the trailer to perform certain operations, a latching ember carried on the coupler head, a bar supported by the trailer frame along the path 0 movement of the latch, and a trip supported by the bar to disenga the latch from the locking member, sai bar serving to held the latch in engagement with the locking member until the latch reaches coupled with the truck when the truck backs into the trailer, having sliding elements arranged toautomatically uncouple the draft connections when the lock on these sliding elements is released, brakes on the trailer, and means for first automatically setting the brakes when the truck drives forward with respect to the trailer preliminary to automatically uncoupling the draft connections.

32. In a truck and a semi-trailer, the combination of a truck, a trailer which may be coupled with the truck when the truck drives into the trailer and provided with sliding elements including the coupling head on the trailer for performing certain operations and for uncoupling the klraft connections between the trailer and the truck at the forward end of the sliding movement of the coupling head, a brake on the trailer, and

means whereby the movement forward of 'the sliding elements on the trailer first automatically sets the brakes to permit the uncoupling of the draft connections.

33. In a truck and a semi-trailer, the combination of a truck, a trailer coupled to the truck when the truckbacks into the trailer, a sliding coupling head on the trailer slidable to perform certain operations means for locking the sliding coupler head at the forward end of its sliding movement, a

brake on the trailer, and means tripped by the sliding elements on the trailer to apply the brake when the sliding elements move forward, the said movement forward of the sliding elements serving to first set said brakes and then to automatically uncouple the draftconnections between the trailer and the truck at the forward end'of the sliding movement. I

34. In a truck and a semi-trailer, the combination of a truck, a trailer, a coupling member provided with two parts which have relative movement and which are connected one to the truck and one to the trailer, an.

override brake in the trailer arranged to engage against the coupling part attached to the truck when the trailer tends to override the truck whereby the coupling parts separate and apply the brakes.

In testimony whereof he has afiixed his signature.

CHARLES LAND, JR. 

